This invention relates to insulation packaging and packaging of other materials, including devices and methods for same.
Fiber insulation, which is in widespread use in various industries such as the appliance industry, is effective insulation and is low cost, but poses the initial problem of handling the fibers during installation of the insulation on the devices to be insulated. Various methods have been used to contain the fibers and protect workers from the fibers, such as encapsulating the fiber materials in plastic film. Such methods have proven inadequate in many uses due to the limitations imposed by the thermal requirements of a particular installation. In addition, fiber insulation frequently loses its effectiveness in various applications due to impregnation with moisture or other contamination from condensation of vapors. Consequently, there is a need for effective devices and methods for encapsulating fiber insulation for installation and to protect the fiber insulation long-term from contamination to maintain the insulation effectiveness.
This invention provides structures and methods for encapsulating and protecting fiber insulation material as well as other materials in multicompartment devices in order to provide unitized material which can be applied to any surface desired for insulation or other purposes. In a first aspect this invention provides that a first sheet of material is formed with pockets or depressions in the sheet which are adapted for receiving the material desired to be unitized. After the pockets or depressions are filled or partially filled with the material a second sheet is placed over the first sheet, then the two sheets are bonded or joined together in the areas between the pockets or depressions. For example, the first sheet can be a sheet of metal foil in which the pockets or depressions are formed by drawing, then after the material is placed in the pockets or depressions a second sheet of metal foil is placed over the first sheet and the two sheets bonded together in the areas between the pockets or depressions by welding, crimping, by adhesive or other means appropriate for the desired installation or use of the unitized material. In a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the first and/or second sheets comprise multilayer metal foil construction.
In another aspect of this invention the material is unitized by placing the material in individual sealed containers or compartments, such as metal foil containers, then the individual containers of unitized material are attached in matrix form to a continuous sheet which can be applied to any surface desired for insulation or other purposes. For example, in one embodiment of this aspect of the invention the fiber insulation or other material can be placed in metal foil pans which are then covered with metal foil lids and the edges rolled to seal the material in the metal foil containers having a rolled lip around the perimeter. A continuous sheet of material is then provided having cut-outs in the sheet adapted for receiving the metal foil containers where the containers are supported in the sheet by the rolled lip. The containers are then attached to the continuous sheet in any desired method such as spot welding, adhesive or otherwise, thereby providing a sheet of unitized insulation material or other material which can be applied to any surface desired for insulation or other purposes. In an alternative embodiment the containers or compartments of unitized material may be removably mounted in the continuous sheet, thus enabling removal and replacement of individual containers or compartments after the continuous sheet of unitized material has been installed on the surface desired. In a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the containers and/or continuous sheet comprise multilayer metal foil construction.
The multicompartment sheets of unitized material provided by this invention in its various aspects have a wide range of utility, such as in the appliance industry, the automotive industry, the aircraft industry, the construction industry, the packaging industry, including food and other materials. The multicompartment sheets of unitized material of this invention are readily designed for use as thermal insulation, acoustic insulation, material storage, material transport and other uses. In addition, the compartments and the multicompartment sheets can be designed to any desired size, shape and thickness for any desired application for the unitized material contained in the compartments. For example, the compartments in the continuous sheet can be of a small size and closely spaced together in a flexible sheet so that the sheet of unitized material can be applied to a curved or other surface, such as the interior wall of an aircraft fuselage. In such aircraft use aluminum foil, especially multilayer foil construction, compartments containing fiberglass or other insulation material can significantly increase burn-through time in the event of a fire. In another example, the compartments in the continuous sheet can be sized to match the size of a surface to be insulated, such as an oven wall. In such installation each compartment would match the size of each oven wall with the space between the compartments corresponding to the corner of the oven whereby the continuous sheet is sized with compartments containing fiber insulation sealed in each compartment and is adapted to be wrapped around the four sides of the oven and secured in place. In a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the compartments and/or continuous sheet comprise multilayer metal foil construction, which is particularly advantageous for enhanced thermal or acoustic insulation performance. The advantages of such unitized insulation in terms of ease of installation and worker protection as well as protecting the long-term efficiency of the insulation are apparent.